Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on VSTM. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Verastem from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.83.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $8.41 on Friday. Verastem has a 52-week low of $3.43 and a 52-week high of $10.82. The stock has a market cap of $761.61 million, a P/E ratio of -4.10 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $8.38 and its 200 day moving average is $6.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.47) by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $24.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.57 million. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 284.03% and a negative net margin of 178.38%. Sell-side analysts predict that Verastem will post -1.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $352,968.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,221,696. This trade represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,041 shares of company stock worth $386,390. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. Opaleye Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verastem in the second quarter valued at about $6,876,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verastem by 157.2% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 347,872 shares in the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Verastem by 58.5% in the first quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 636,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,375,000 after purchasing an additional 234,957 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the second quarter valued at about $706,000. Finally, Seven Fleet Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 715.1% during the first quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 123,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 108,260 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verastem News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Verastem this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its price target from $18 to $20 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling continued confidence in Verastem’s prospects. HC Wainwright rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lowered its target from $19 to $18 but kept its Outperform rating. The reduced target is a modest caution, while the rating remains supportive. RBC rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Dan Paterson sold 1,299 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, a sale equal to about 0.2% of his holdings; he still owned more than 651,000 shares afterward. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Verastem posted an updated corporate presentation on its oncology programs, but the available report did not specify material new developments. Presentation update
• Negative Sentiment: Verastem reported a Q3 loss of $0.74 per share, wider than the roughly $0.47 consensus loss, while revenue of $24.0 million missed estimates of about $26.6 million. The loss narrowed from $1.35 per share a year earlier, but the quarterly misses were the clearest near-term pressure on the stock. Q3 results

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem, operating as Verastem Oncology, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancer. The company’s research is centered on tumors driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway, which can promote cancer-cell growth and resistance to treatment.

Verastem’s leading product candidates include avutometinib, an oral RAF/MEK clamp designed to inhibit signaling within the RAS/MAPK pathway, and defactinib, an oral focal adhesion kinase inhibitor.